Metro Vancouver Road Infrastructure Discussion

[libtard]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

So I saw in the Maple Ridge news that Pitt Meadows is planning on building a bypass between GEW and Harris Road north of Lougheed Highway.

On the negative side it involves removing land from the ALR (hopefully only land south of the bypass and not north, and also would they not need to replace the same amount of land removed with a parcel of equal size?)

On the positive, according to the graphic I saw, it involves upgrading the Lougheed Highway and Harris Road intersection into an interchange. How real is this proposal (especially the interchange) and are there any other sources detailing this project that anyone is aware of?

So they want to make traffic free flowing from lougheed onto Harris rd north or south of lougheed?

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by libtard

So they want to make traffic free flowing from lougheed onto Harris rd north or south of lougheed?

I’m at work and out of data for the month so my phone won’t load the news article with the diagram (internet access is atrocious in Japan, very few work places have wifi, and cell plans here make Canadian providers look like Robin Hood) but off of memory the Lougheed will be free flowing under a Harris Road overpass. There was one or two flyovers I think for some other free flow movements but it looks as if a new signalized intersection will be built north of the Lougheed where Harris Road and the new Lougheed Bypass meet.

I know the Vancouver Trade Board also want me to make Allen Way an interchange too.

Maybe slowly the NFPR will be cobbled together an interchange at a time?

Again, not sure how real the Harris Road Interchange is as in it looks as if provincial funding would be needed and the current bypass project was quoted at only 16 million.

[Dengler Avenue]

NFPR as in Mary Hill Bypass - Lougheed Highway - Highway 11?

[flipper316]

All a pipe dream cuz then Lougheed's traffic will just hit the next light. Waste of money if it's not upgraded to a full freeway.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by flipper316

All a pipe dream cuz then Lougheed's traffic will just hit the next light. Waste of money if it's not upgraded to a full freeway.

More than that. It would also require Highway 11 (Abbotsford - Mission Highway) to be free-flowing to bring traffic back to TCH.

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

NFPR as in Mary Hill Bypass - Lougheed Highway - Highway 11?

The original NFPR plan was a free flowing route between the Queensburough Bridge in New West to the Pitt Meadows / Maple Ridge border where the Lougheed diverges into the Lougheed and Dewdney Trunk (a very natural eastern end point IMO).

Now it seems that any NFPR we have a chance of seeing is the Mary Hill Bypass upgraded to freeway standard and the Lougheed upgraded to freeways standard to the same eastern terminus at the Maple Ridge / Pitt Meadows border.

To me this new potential plan makes a lot of sense and could be done an interchange or two at a time (of course a single project would be better, but will take what we can get).

There is also still the outside chance of Columbia becoming free flow between the new Pattullo and an upgraded Brunette Interchange.

This would be the idea NFPR.

[Dengler Avenue]

I know that making Highway 7 (including a widened Haney Bypass) free flowing all the way to Mission City then doing the same with Highway 11 all the way to TCH is a highly unpopular idea, not to mention that a huge chunk of the plan is outside of Metro Van’s mandate, but I’m suggesting it as an alternative to TCH which gets congested during rush hours between Willoughby and Abbotsford.

[Metro-One]

Any improvements on the Granville Street Bridge must include Granville Island access (and maybe other access points) from the get go, or it is pointless IMO.

Here are the renderings for a Harris Road Interchange / the North Lougheed Connector.

The first diagrams are from Pitt Meadows' 2014 transportation plan.

It states that they are leaning towards the design with the roundabout at that time, but it still has a signalized intersection at Lougheed Highway / Harris Road, so I really hope they chose the free flow option for Lougheed (actually removinga set of lights).

HarrisRoadInterchange by Ian, on Flickr

Here is the diagram of the Lougheed Connector itself from the recent news article. Encouragingly it seems to display the superior free flow interchange option for Lougheed Highway.

NorthRoadConnector by Ian, on Flickr

Obviously 16 million wont cover either of the options fully. Guessing they are banking on contributions from the province?

[Dengler Avenue]

Highway 7’s provincially maintained after all, so I can see why Ridge Meadows’ hoping for provincial money.

[officedweller]

Long-awaited improvements could be coming to Hwy 1 through Fraser Valley
https://www.citynews1130.com/2019/04...-improvements/

[GeeCee]

From the 'only me and possibly SpongeG will care' file, Port Coquitlam is looking to six lane Lougheed Highway between Westwood and Shaughnessy, and replace the two existing bridges over the Coquitlam River. This should get rid of the choke point that brings traffic through the corridor to a standstill.

https://www.tricitynews.com/news/por...dge-1.23801226

[Metro-One]

Well that is some good news. Good bye old truss bridge.

Also excited to see what is announced for Highway 1.

I have a suspicion of they do expand the highway it may be a third lane that is HOV / bus??

[dharper]

I predict the Highway 1 announcement will simply be a re-announcement of what of what the Liberals announced 3 or 4 years ago now. Only this time, it will be the NDP using it as a 'election carrot', with a probable with a start date less than a year after the next election.

[flipper316]

Why not just expand Lougheed from Westwood to Pitt River Bridge to 6 lanes and get rid
of that stupid light by the car wash place.

[GeeCee]

Originally Posted by flipper316

Why not just expand Lougheed from Westwood to Pitt River Bridge to 6 lanes and get rid
of that stupid light by the car wash place.

It is already six lanes past Shaughnessy all the way through.

The light is necessary in order to accommodate traffic to/from the residential neighborhoods to the north and south. The intersection is far too busy to use stop signs with four lanes, never mind six. Blocking this access point would move a considerable amount of traffic over to Westwood which can't really feasibly be widened.

[CanSpice]

Originally Posted by GeeCee

It is already six lanes past Shaughnessy all the way through.

The light is necessary in order to accommodate traffic to/from the residential neighborhoods to the north and south. The intersection is far too busy to use stop signs with four lanes, never mind six. Blocking this access point would move a considerable amount of traffic over to Westwood which can't really feasibly be widened.

Especially since that intersection could see more cross-traffic in the future with 1000 homes coming to Lougheed and Westwood just down the street.

[Klazu]

I am a simple man. I see six lanes being mentioned and I smile.

[Mininari]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

I have a suspicion of they do expand the highway it may be a third lane that is HOV / bus??

You were right!

This showed up on the government news release just now...

https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2019TRAN0062-000774

April 25th, 2019.
By: Ministry of Transportation and Highways Communications Writer:

...
Today, François-Philippe Champagne, federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, John Horgan, Premier of British Columbia, and Jack Froese, mayor of Langley, announced $235.5 million in joint funding for upgrades to Highway 1 in Langley.

Work involves widening a total of ten kilometres between 216th Street and 264th Street by adding a new high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane in each direction, reconfiguring the 232nd Street interchange and adding a new underpass at Glover Road and the CP Rail crossing. A new truck parking lot will also be added near Highways 1 and 17 for up to 150 commercial trucks and up to 45 passenger vehicles.
...

No mention of a future phase to Abbotsford...

[CivicBlues]

Originally Posted by Mininari

You were right!

This showed up on the government news release just now...

https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2019TRAN0062-000774

April 25th, 2019.
By: Ministry of Transportation and Highways Communications Writer:

...
Today, François-Philippe Champagne, federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, John Horgan, Premier of British Columbia, and Jack Froese, mayor of Langley, announced $235.5 million in joint funding for upgrades to Highway 1 in Langley.

Work involves widening a total of ten kilometres between 216th Street and 264th Street by adding a new high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane in each direction, reconfiguring the 232nd Street interchange and adding a new underpass at Glover Road and the CP Rail crossing. A new truck parking lot will also be added near Highways 1 and 17 for up to 150 commercial trucks and up to 45 passenger vehicles.
...

No mention of a future phase to Abbotsford...

Geeze, do we really need an HOV lane out in the sticks? Why not just 3 General Purpose lanes? I think we need at least 3 GP lanes before adding in an HOV lane. Freakin' BC highways...

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by GeeCee

... and replace the two existing bridges over the Coquitlam River. ...
https://www.tricitynews.com/news/por...dge-1.23801226

I wonder if it'll be a "landmark" bridge (ie. cable-stayed)?